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Bowel cancer – knowing the signs

April
is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. In this blog, Vicky from the Cancer
Information Development Team talks about her experience of bowel cancer and the
importance of spotting it early.

The
facts

Bowel
cancer, also called colorectoal cancer, is the third most
common cancer in the UK. More than 40,000 men
and women are diagnosed with the disease every year.

I was diagnosed with bowel cancer when I was 25, but this
is very unusual - most bowel cancers (83%) are diagnosed in people over 60.

There are other risk
factors associated with bowel cancer, but the cause of it is still
unknown. If someone in your family has had bowel cancer and you’re worried
about your risk, you may find our leaflet Are
you worried about bowel cancer? helpful.

When diagnosed early, bowel cancer is
very treatable and can be cured. When it’s diagnosed at a later stage,
it can’t always be cured but can often be controlled for some time.

It’s important to be aware of the
signs so you can report anything unusual to your GP.

Symptoms
of bowel cancer

Blood
in, or on, your stools (bowel motions). The blood may be bright red or dark in
colour.

A
change in your normal bowel habit (such as diarrhoea or constipation) for no
obvious reason, lasting for longer than six weeks.

Unexplained
weight loss.

Pain
in the tummy or back passage.

Feeling
like you’ve not emptied your bowel properly after a bowel motion.

Feeling
extremely tired.

My bowel cancer caused a blockage in my bowel. This can cause different
symptoms to those above, such as:

A lot of people feel embarrassed
talking to their doctor about private things like going to the loo, and they
may worry about being examined. Remember, doctors are used to talking to
patients about these things every day, and there’s no need to feel awkward. If
your doctor does want to examine your back passage, try to relax. It’ll be over
quickly and while it may be a bit uncomfortable, it isn’t painful.

Bowel
cancer screening for older people

A national screening programme to
detect bowel cancer has been introduced in the UK. All men and women aged 60-74 in England and Wales, 50-74 in Scotland, and 60-71 in Northern Ireland, are
offered a faecal
occult blood (FOB) test every two years.

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